The Colombian-born experimentalists return to the collaborative mode they first explored on León’s A Tropical Entropy, sharpening their shared language into a six-track EP for Domino’s Smugglers Way.
After a one-off pairing on Nick León’s “Ghost Orchid” last year, Ela Minus and the Miami producer have assembled a full joint EP. qué les pasó a mis amigos? arrives via Domino imprint Smugglers Way in August, with a physical edition to follow in November featuring remixes by Loidis, Brenda, and Guedra Guedra.
The pair, both of Colombian heritage, trace the connection to an uncommon creative instinct. “It was so free,” León says. “There were unspoken understandings of what we wanted to do. That’s not normal.” Minus puts it plainly: “We immediately felt this kinship.” That directness already produced “Ghost Orchid,” and here it extends across six tracks, including three original pieces and the reworks.
Lead preview “espiral” gives a tight signal. It’s built on sharp, percussive synth stabs that refuse to let up, but the track moves with a slinky restraint, Minus’s voice slipping through the metallic grid rather than fighting it. The production doesn’t overwhelm; it coils, locking into a sleek electronic-pop logic that pulls its weight from texture rather than volume.
The release also marks a live step: Minus and León have been announced for Smugglers Way’s first showcase on September 3 at London’s ICA, alongside Alexis Taylor & Mike Simonetti and remixer Guedra Guedra. It places the EP less as a side project than as a deliberate expansion of a partnership that runs on instinct rather than plan.
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